PORT HOOD: After announcing the return of in-person concerts for the Celtic Colours International Festival, organizers said the municipality will have a large role in this year’s event.
During the regular monthly meeting of Inverness Municipal Council on July 7 in Port Hood, Celtic Colours Festival CEO Leanne Birmingham-Beddow said they are happy to return for their 25th year.
“We’re actually really happy to be working on plans for a live show festival this year,” she told council. “We have 48 concerts planned throughout the island; all around Cape Breton Island.”
Birmingham-Beddow said the festival will run from Oct. 7-15.
“Our closing concert is actually going to be at the Port Hawkesbury Civic Centre,” she said. “And we have lots and lots of stuff in between. We’re really pleased that we’ve got 15 shows of the 48, a good chunk of those shows are going to be here in Inverness County.”
On July 27 at 7:30 p.m. a live, in-person concert “Celtic Colours Live and In Person” will take place at Strathspey Performing Arts Centre in Mabou featuring David Francey, Mary Jane Lamond, and Beòlach, the CEO noted.
“To give a small taste of what’s to come in October, and we’re really pleased to be able to present that coinciding with the launch of all of our artists,” Birmingham-Beddow said. “That’s when we’ll be announcing all the details of which artists are at which concerts and venues throughout the festival.”
Birmingham-Beddow said another show will be taking place in Mabou during the festival.
“We have a special tribute show that’s going to happen in Mabou, and that is all the details,” she said.
The festival will also offer a “Dance Showcase,” Birmingham-Beddow reported.
“It features some younger dancers with some older dancers and all around this particular this particular form of art,” she noted. “There’s video, they worked hard on a lot of great footage and it’ll be a produced piece that’s coinciding with the dance show. So you’ll see some video documentary kind of information that’ll go along with the dance shows. Cape Breton step dancing, of course, and it’s going to be really something special that they’ve been working hard on throughout the winter and actually finishing up this past little bit.”
Along with this, Birmingham-Beddow announced another special project.
“It’s another kind of video livestreamed show that will happen around ‘Inspiring Places,’ and there’s nine ‘Inspiring Places’ that have been selected by artists throughout Cape Breton Island, and there’s several actually from Inverness County,” she stated. “Where an artist actually pares up with a place that is in their art, and in their music. That’ll be featured, as well, throughout the festival and will actually be a streamed presentation.”
Birmingham-Beddow said Celtic Colours held a series of meetings with community groups around Cape Breton in April and May about hosting local events. She said they include square dances and nature walks and they’ve received interest from “nearly 20” local organizations.
“We rely so heavily on all the volunteer groups and community groups that are out there. We build all of those community events, meals, cultural demonstrations in and around the concerts themselves,” she said. “We’re pleased to say that we’re getting great response.”
While 40 per cent of the audience is from Cape Breton, Birmingham-Beddow said it’s significant to the local economy that 48 per cent of attendees are from outside Nova Scotia.
In addition to promoting local businesses and communities, while showcasing the Celtic culture, Birmingham-Beddow said school programs will also return in the fall.
Birmingham-Beddow added that tickets for Celtic Colours 2022 will go on sale in August.
“We’ve all been already been manning the phones and we’re getting calls from all around the world from people who can’t wait to join us and gather for the festival.”